EFFECTS OF A THROMBOXANE SYNTHETASE INHIBITOR (OKY-046) ON VASCULAR REACTIVITY TO ANGIOTENSIN-II AFTER STRICTURE OF THE ABDOMINAL-AORTA IN PREGNANT RABBITS

The abdominal aorta of 20 pregnant rabbits was surgically constricted below the renal arteries on the 21st day of pregnancy, producing a stricture that decreased the blood flow by 60%. Four pregnant rabbits underwent sham operation and served as control. The pressor response to angiotensin II (A-II) was assessed by measuring the systolic blood pressure in the ear of rabbits. We intravenously administered 20 mg/kg of OKY-046, a thromboxane A2 (TXA2) synthetase inhibitor (OKY group: n = 13) or saline (n = 7) daily from the 23rd day of pregnancy until the day of delivery. After stricture of the abdominal aorta, the "effective pressor dose" (EPD:nanograms of A-II/kg/min necessary to cause a 20 mmHg rise in systolic pressure) was significantly lower in the saline group than in the control group. On the 27th and 29th day of pregnancy, the EPD in the OKY group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The plasma thromboxane B2 (TXB2) level in the OKY group was significantly lower than that in the saline group on the 27th day. The fetal birth weight in the saline group was significantly lower than that in the control group. These finding suggest that OKY-046 restores the vascular refractoriness induced by A II and suppresses TXA2 synthesis in pregnant rabbits with aortic constriction.